Everyday Memory

Question 1

What is the everyday memory approach? (Koriat & Goldsmith, 1996)

Answer 1

Correspondence metaphor

Materials: older, rehearsed 
Learning: incidental
Of interest: fit of individuals report and                     actual event 
Motivation: perps all goals 
Focus on: relevance

Question 2

Describe purposeful action

Answer 2

Neisser 1996 believed everyday memory research is based on action which;

1) is purposeful
2) has a personal quality about it, meaning it is influenced by the individuals personality and other characteristics (e.g. To impress and audience)

Question 3

What is episodic memory?

Answer 3

(Tulving 2002)
Memory for past events in our live. The ‘what’ ‘where’ and ‘when’- distinctly human.

• ability to mentally time travel
• awareness of what we are doing

(Evidence that it is distinct from semantic memory)

Question 4

What is autobiographical memory?

Answer 4

Conway, Pleydell-Pearce & Whitecross 2001

Function of defining identity, linking personal and public history. Supporting a network of personal goals across life span. Grounding self in experience.

Evidence that it is distinct from episodic memory

Question 5

What are the 3 levels of specificity of knowledge base of AM?

Answer 5

1) lifetime periods- substantial periods of time, defined by major ongoing situations, thematic and temporal knowledge
2) general events- repeated and single events
3) event specific knowledge- images, feelings and other details relating to general events

Question 6

What is the working self? (Conway, 2005)

Answer 6

A complex set of active goals and self images through which information is filtered and encoded

Question 7

What are the ways autobiographical memory is accused?

Answer 7

1) general retrieval: deliberate construction of autobiographical memories (working self + knowledge base)
2) Direct retrieval: triggered by specific cues

Question 8

What is the role of olfaction on memory?

Answer 8

Most believe odours provide reminders of vivid and emotional personal memories
Eg Maylor et al 2002- Clu and Downs 2000

Lack of olfactory memories makes them special

Question 9

What is a flashbulb memory?

Answer 9

Vivid long lasting autobiographical memories for important dramatic and surprising public events, such as terrorist attack sept 11 or death of princess Di

Question 10

What are the 3 flashbulb memory models?

Answer 10

1) photographic model (brown and kulik, 1977) paralleling now print theory
2) comprehensive model. (Conway 1994) 3 main procedures over time. Prior knowledge, personal importance, affective reaction
3) integrative emotional model. Surprise is a direct determent of fm

Question 11

What does Ost 2008 et al say about flashbulb memory?

Answer 11

Surprisingly inaccurate

Question 12

What do Talarico and Rubin (2003) say about flashbulb memories?

Answer 12

FbMs aren’t fully formed at the moment they learn of the event

Question 13

What does Neisser say about FbMs?

Answer 13

The term flashbulb is misleading as memories are not so much momentary snapshots as enduring benchmarks. They are the places where we line up our own lives with the course of history itself and say ‘I was there’

Question 14

Describe memories across a lifetime

Answer 14

Rubin, wetzler and Nebes (1986)

• infantile amnesia: lack of personal memories for the first 3 years of life
• reminiscence bump: high number of memories coming from age 15-30

Cross cultures Conway et al 2005

Question 15

Describe infant amnesia

Answer 15

(Howe Courage, 1997)
A developed sense of self is necessary to form autobiographical memories- age 2, provides schemata

2003: self recognisers had better memory for personal events

Question 16

What is the social-cultural theory of infantile amnesia ?

Fivush and Nelson 2004

Answer 16

Language and culture central to autobiographical memory development.
Harley and Reese 1999- childhood memories

Elaboration provides a chance to ‘rehearse’ more common with western mothers

Question 17

What are the main parts of the reminiscence bump?

Rubin et al (1998)

Answer 17

Novelty: effort after meaning, proactive interference, distinctive memories

Stability: stable Periods of life more likely to serve as models for future events

Life script: coherent account of who we are and how we got here (emotionally intense, typically well coded) - falling in love, uni, marriage, children

Question 18

Describe Glück and Blucks (2008) study on ‘life narrative hypothese

Answer 18

3541 like events
659 ptps age 50-90
Rate memories on emotional valence, personal importance, sense of control

Bump found for only positive memories with high control.

Autobiographical memories from this period are important in creating positive life narrative.

Question 19

Explain cascading reminiscence bump

Answer 19

Having a bump for something that is not directly related to you. Eg having a bump for sings that were released before you were born as your parents played it a lot when you were a child.

Question 20

What do Bohn and Bernsten (2011) suggest?

Answer 20

That the RB is based on cultural life scripts. Culturally shared expectations of the timing of life events in prototypical life course.

Asking 10yos about their personal future lead to a RB in young adulthood. Powerful organising influence of culture on autobiographical memory

Question 21

What do wang and Conway argue? (2006)

Answer 21

Memory does not just occur. In the head but also in social context of social-cultural participation during which participants construct their life story

Question 22

Individuals with an autonomous self construct….

Answer 22

May be more sensitive to events unique to the self

Question 23

Individuals who focus on the more relational aspects of self…

Answer 23

May be more sensitive to events involving social interaction and collective events

Question 24

Describe one difference between the recollection of memory in Caucasian and Chinese individuals

Answer 24

U.S. Ptps provided Voluminous, specific, self focused and emotionally elaborate memories.
Chinese ptps provided brief accounts, centred on collective activities, general routines and emotionally neutral events

Question 25

What is the traditional approach? (Koriat & Goldsmith, 1996)

Answer 25

Storehouse metaphor

Materials: recent and arbitrary
Learning: of intentional
Of interest: number of accessible items 
Motivation: arbitrary instruction 
Focus on: accuracy

Question 26

What do Dudukovic, Marsh and Tversky (2004) say about storytelling

Answer 26

Retelling stories in an entertaining way can distort subsequent long-term memory, even when the goal is accuracy

Question 27

What do Middleton and Brown (2005) state about memory?

Answer 27

Reject the storehouse view in favour of remembering social action

Question 28

Describe children’s autobiographical memory

Answer 28

Children learn specific narrative devices through participating in conversations about experiences

Question 29

What is HSAM?

Answer 29

Highly superior autobiographical memory

Question 30

What did Elizabeth Loftus famously say?

Answer 30

Memory has a superiority complex

Question 31

What did Nash and Takarangi (2011) find? (Drinking)

Answer 31

People tend to look for verification of memory from unreliable sources such as friends who have also been drinking with them

Question 32

What is metacognition?

Answer 32

Memory is a decisional process- we decide whether what we retrieve reaches the criteria of a memory